LDS church officials address St. George Temple closure rumors

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints visit the church's St. George Temple on Friday. Despite ...more

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints visit the church's St. George Temple on Friday. Despite widespread rumors the temple might shut down for renovation once the faith's Cedar City Temple opens in October, church leaders say no such plans exist at this time.

As The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints nears completion of its Cedar City temple, many patrons of the faith’s historic temple in St. George are anticipating that the Dixie building will be closed for remodeling and they’ll be sent to Iron County to do their religious service.

But don’t go counting your Angel Moronis just yet.

“It’s not on the drawing board right now,” said J. Ralph Atkin, the LDS church’s director of Public Affairs for the St. George Region.

“It’s not scheduled to be renovated,” he said. “There are four temples in the church being renovated … and it’s not on the list.”A counselor in the St. George temple presidency added a bit of dramatic flair June 4 when he addressed church members attending a conference of Washington City’s LDS Buena Vista Stake, telling them he wanted to address rumors rampant in the community.

“When the Cedar temple opens, St. George will not close. He made that very clear,” said Don Burton, a member of the stake.

“The temple president has not been informed (of plans to renovate St. George’s) at all,” Atkin added.

Atkin noted that, as far as Southern Utah is concerned, other construction projects already under way are occupying the LDS church’s attention for the foreseeable future.

In addition to the Cedar City temple, which is scheduled to begin a series of open house events on Oct. 27, the church is preparing to open its FamilySearch Center genealogy library this coming Thursday. Following a VIP tour in the morning, the doors will open to the public at 1 p.m. and tours will continue into the weekend.

During a groundbreaking ceremony two years ago, church officials said the new library will approach genealogy research with a “Museum of Me” concept that allows people unaccustomed to historical research to establish their own personal record and link it to the lives of their ancestors.

The St. George FamilySearch Center will open later this month at 237 E. 600 South.

The St. George FamilySearch Center will open later this month at 237 E. 600 South.

Photo submitted by St. George FamilySearch Center

“We realized some time ago that a lot of people are … just not ready to do research,” FamilySearch Libraries and Centers Director Dennis Brimhall said at the time. “For them, much of what they need to do is just start a journey of discovery. … And the first thing people want to discover, before they discover anything else, is themselves.”

LDS church members believe genealogy is important in part because of church temple ordinances that link them to previous-generation relatives, but the family history library is open to anyone regardless of religious affiliation. Visitors who may not be associated with the church can decide what information they are comfortable sharing with volunteers as they try to learn about their ancestors through the center’s interactive technology.

In December, LDS church historic sites curator Emily Utt said the church is not publicizing the timeline associated with the project because “we don’t want to put people’s hopes up” when the budget and the schedule can often change during the course of the work.

“We’re doing so much work, it’s not a six-month project. … (But) we’re on schedule. We’re hitting our deadlines,” she said at the time.

Utt labeled the Tabernacle project a restoration that is undoing some previous renovation work in an effort to make the building appear as close to its historical origins as possible while boasting modern-day construction materials that shore up its seismic rating.

Work crews continue structure renovations on the LDS tabernacle in St. George Friday, Dec. 2, 2016.

Work crews continue structure renovations on the LDS tabernacle in St. George Friday, Dec. 2, 2016.

Chris Caldwell / The Spectrum & Daily News

“We want this building to look and feel like a pioneer building,” Utt said. “We even want to keep some of the creaks in the floors. … We have worked really hard to make sure as many of those pioneer elements that have survived today will still be there. So the wood timbers in the floor and in the roof, all of those will still be here when we’re done, it just won’t be nearly as shaky.

Work on the Tabernacle began in 1863 and was largely completed eight years later, at which time plans for the temple were announced. The temple was completed after another six years, shortly after the Tabernacle’s clock tower and interior accoutrements were finished.

The Tabernacle served as a gathering place for regularly scheduled religious meetings in an era before churches became almost as ubiquitous throughout the community as convenience stores are in other cities. In the modern era, it has served primarily as a place for community arts performances, tourism and select large family gatherings such as the funeral of former St. George Mayor Karl Brooks in 2015.